In this video for Production Expert, Tom Lowe uses dearVR PRO - a 3D audio processing plug-in - to mix sound in several immersive formats, from binaural for headphones, through to Ambisonics in first, second and third orders, 7.1.2 for Dolby Atmos beds, and 13.1 for Auro3D.
dearVR PRO is a 3D audio processing plug-in which enables you to mix sound in several immersive formats, from binaural for headphones, through to Ambisonics in first, second and third orders, 7.1.2 for Dolby Atmos beds, and 13.1 for Auro3D. You can also output traditional channel-based formats, such as stereo, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 for multichannel workflows.
In the audio example and video for this article, I'm setting the output Third Order Ambisonics. The workflow is the same regardless of your delivery format – you just have to change this in the Output Format dropdown menu in the Master section of the plug-in.
The plug-in has four different processing units.
Position
The Position module renders distance, listening angle and elevation relative to the listener. There are two different input modes for this unit, and which one you choose will determine how you place your sound. In Cartesian mode, the coordinates X, Y, Z represent distances from the listener. In this mode, you change position by dragging the audio source icon with the mouse in the XYZ-Pad. You can also enter a numeric value into the XYZ display field.
The second mode is Polar, where you change position with the Azimuth, Elevation and Distance sliders. You can also enter a numeric value into the display fields next to the sliders. When using this mode, you can't drag the audio source icon.
The sliders for the controls in Polar mode are disabled when using Cartesian mode. For further details for the full controls in this mode, I suggest you refer to page 12 of the dearVR PRO manual, which you can download here.
Reflections
The reflections module generates reflection patterns depending on the sound source position.
If the sound object moves, the reflection pattern adapts to the direction of the signal.
With Realtime Auralization, it is possible to create real-time reflections depending on the sound source position and distance relative to six walls: Left, Front, Right, Top, Back, Bottom. Walls are indicated within the XYZ-Pad using narrow lines.
Reverb
For the reverb module, dearVR PRO has 46 Virtual Acoustic presets, capturing the characteristics of different rooms and locations. You can quickly adapt these acoustics to a specific scene or room by changing the size or applying the damping filter. Having these built-in to the plug-in is especially useful when working with binaural or Ambisonics.
Master
The Master module is responsible for defining input, output and general options like bypass and performance mode.
The input channel control allows you to choose the input channel when using stereo tracks. The audio positioner is only available for a mono sound source, so when using stereo sounds, you must choose either the left or right channel, or a mix of the two. When using stereo sources, dearVR say the following:
Using the dearVR plug-in creates a 3D audio object as a point source. In case you want a stereo audio signal to spread within the 3D space, you have to create two separate tracks for the stereo file - each with an instance of the dearVR plug-in. Set one input slider to Left and the other to Right. Position both audio objects together and adjust their distance between each other by ear.
This section is also where you select the output format, with 34 from which to choose. There is a binaural output mode if you're delivering for headphones, as well as channel-based audio formats and Ambisonics up the Third Order, in both Ambix and FuMa configurations. All instances of the plug-in in your session should have the same output format selected. If you're using Pro Tools, this won't automatically change the number of outputs on your track, so you must make sure these are correct when created, e.g., using a Third-Order Ambisonics track when outputting Third-Order Ambisonics, and a 5.1 track when outputting 5.1 audio.
Creating An Immersive Soundscape
In the audio example for this article, I created an immersive soundscape using library sound effects. For the backgrounds, I used sounds recorded in First-Order Ambisonics. These background tracks are used as a "bed", becoming a starting point to build upon with additional sounds. Adding mono sources placed within the soundfield in Third-Order Ambisonics increase the overall spatial resolution.
Once the sound was positioned or panned using automation, I enabled the reverb section on some sounds to help place them within the virtual environment. The result is that each sound source has its own reverb, rather than lots of sounds being sent to a single reverb, meaning you can optimise the settings for each sound.
After placing every sound in its position, or automating any position moves, I added the reflections and reverb, where required. Next, the level was set on all sounds. For monitoring the Third-Order Ambisonics on headphones, I added dearVR AMBI MICRO to the Aux track used for the mix bus. dearVR AMBI MICRO is a free plug-in which accepts inputs up to Third-Order Ambisonics and encodes this to binaural, for monitoring using headphones. Alternatively, I could have set dearVR PRO to output binaural audio. However, this would have limited my options further down the line. By outputting Ambisonics from dearVR PRO, you can later encode this to binaural, or use various other software to create stereo, 5.1, 7.1 and other deliverables in channel-based audio formats. With this workflow, you get maximum flexibility when designing, editing, and mixing sound for a range of productions. Of course, this could also be used as the Ambisonics soundtrack to accompany a 360-degree video on YouTube or Facebook, and then later create static mixes for a standard non-360 version of the video, should they be required.
You can download the Third-Order Ambisonics of the mix and use dearVR AMBI MICRO to listen to it in binaural. A demo version of dearVR PRO is available to download, to try out and see how it fits into your immersive audio workflow. There is also the cheaper dearVR MUSIC which may be worth considering if you don't require all the features of dearVR PRO.
Key Features
Supporting up to 26 channels from 5.0, 5.1.4, 7.1.4, up to 13.1
All-in-one solution for spatial audio production enabling binaural, ambisonics, stereo and multi-channel output formats
Position and move audio sources in a virtual 3D environment adjusting azimuth, elevation and distance to the listener
More than 45 vivid virtual acoustic environments to choose from, each independently recallable per plugin instance
Powerful Realtime Auralization processing continually changes the delay times and directions of arrival for early reflections as you move an audio source in reality
State-of-the-art processing allows any multitrack session to be mixed in 3D with high level of out-of-head localization
This feature adjusts the sound of an object being blocked by another virtual object in line of sight to the listener
Controls for virtual environments adjust their size, damping, balance of early reflections and diffuse reverb and distance of walls, ceiling and floor to listener
For full details on dearVR PRO, head over to to Dear Reality’s website.